In 1959 when the University of Gonzaga Glee Club disbanded, three of its members, William Chadbourne Mitchell (aka Chad), Mike Kobluk and Mike Pugh formed a trio.They decided Chad's name sounded the best and dubbed their new act accordingly.

They came to the attention of Father Reinard Beaver who encouraged them to come with him to New York the following summer when he went to attend Army Chaplain school. They did a few spontaneous performances along the way to supplement the approx. $300 they had set out with between them.

By the time they were supposed to head back to Gonzaga, the trio had an audition for Arthur Godfrey and were getting ready to record an album (The Chad Mitchell Trio Arrives).

The following summer Mike Pugh decided he wanted to leave the group. After auditioning many people, they decided on Joe Frazier as Pugh's replacement. By Thanksgiving they were booked on The Pat Boone Show. Soon they were performing at Carnegie Hall with Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba and Odetta.

Chad left to pursue a solo career in 1965 and was replaced by John Denver and the group was redubbed The Mitchell Trio (no "Chad"). When Joe Frazier left, he was replaced by David Boise. In 1968, the last original member Mike Kobluk left the group. His replacement was Michael Johnson and due to the terms of the contract, the "Mitchell" name had to go. The new group was called simply Denver, Boise and Johnson.

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